Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I disagree fundamentally with Senators Ó Murchú and Quinn. It is political opportunism to say we should forget about the past when we know that past Government policies have brought us to where we are now. To learn from the past we must ensure we never again follow those policies. It was not the ordinary citizens but the high financiers in the banking profession, developers and Government policies pursued, in the main, by Fianna Fáil that brought us to where we are today. We should never forget that. To move forward, we must learn from the past. I do not blame public or private sector workers. I blame the Government and, in particular, Fianna Fáil which has been in power for the majority of the past 25 years.